Trendy pick Belmont can't get past Terps
No. 6 seed Maryland is moving on after surviving a tough bout with Belmont in a 79-77 win, keeping the Big Ten conference perfect through three games.
Jalen Smith threw down a thundering two-handed dunk over Dylan Windler, drawing a foul for a threepoint play to give the Terrapins a 77-73 lead with 1:41 to play. The Bruins didn't fade, though. Nick Muszynski's 3-pointer cut Maryland's lead to one point with 1:01 remaining.
The Bruins had the ball after a Terrapins miss with the chance to take the lead, but they turned it over. Windler's final heave at the buzzer fell short.
Minnesota and Michigan State have already won, making the Big Ten 3-0 so far. Michigan and Purdue were playing later on Thursday night. The Big Ten sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, the most in the field this year and the most in conference history.
MICHIGAN STATE 76, BRADLEY 65: Cassius Winston scored 26 points and secondseeded Michigan State held off Bradley in the opening round of the East Region. Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for the Spartans (29-6), who’ll face Big Ten rival, 10th-seeded Minnesota, on Saturday in search of their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in four years. Michigan State throttled the Gophers 79-55 in East Lansing back on Feb. 9. Bradley gave the Big Ten champions all they could handle, though. It was a one-possession game until Matt McQuaid drilled a crucial 3 to put Michigan State ahead 61-55 with 3:31 left. Aaron Henry followed with a layup to cap a 9-0 run, but Darrell Brown hit a 3 for Bradley to make it 65-60. The Spartans iced the game at the line, where they hit their first 20 and finished 25 of 26. MINNESOTA 86, LOUISVILLE 76: Minnesota won its first NCAA Tournament game in six years behind 24 points from freshman Gale Kalscheur as the 10th-seeded Gophers rolled past Louisville in the opening round of the East Region. It was the first tournament win in Richard Pitino’s six seasons coaching the Gophers and came against the school that fired his father, Rick Pitino, in 2017. Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey each had 18 points for Minnesota (22-13), which knocked down 11 3s despite entering play ranked 344th nationally in made 3s per game. Kalscheur’s layup early in the second half gave Minnesota its first double-digit lead, 43-33, and Murphy’s layup made it a 50-38 game with 16:06 left. The Cardinals went to a full-court press in an effort to slow down the surging Gophers. But that just left Kalscheur open from the same spot on back-to-back possessions, and he drilled two 3s to give Minnesota a 59-43 lead.
LSU 79, YALE 74: Skylar Mays hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help embattled LSU slip past 14thseeded Yale. Mays scored 19 points but sealed the game from the charity stripe, and the Tigers (27-6) needed each one of his free throws. Yale (22-8) hit four 3-pointers in the final minute and whittled an 18-point deficit to three in the closing seconds. Most of those on hand at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena started cheering for the underdog Bulldogs. With the lead on the line, Mays calmly stepped to the line and sank all his free throws.